Meditation and Memory...
Surprisingly, meditation and
memory are linked. New research shows that regular meditation changes the
physical structure of your brain in powerful ways - including ways that improve
memory. So what is the connection between meditation and memory?
Studies at Massachusetts General
Hospital in Boston have shown that regular meditation causes the brain's
cerebral cortex to thicken. This happens through an increase in the size of the
blood vessels and the amount of blood flow to the region.
The cortex is the area of the
brain responsible for the higher mental functions, so this is an amazing
discovery.
One recent study found evidence
that the daily practice of meditation thickened the parts of the brain's
cerebral cortex responsible for decision making, attention and memory. Sara
Lazar, a research scientist at Massachusetts General Hospital, presented
preliminary results last November that showed that the gray matter of 20 men
and women who meditated for just 40 minutes a day was thicker than that of
people who did not. What's more, her research suggests that meditation may slow
the natural thinning of that section of the cortex that occurs with age.
"Attention is the key to
learning, and meditation helps you voluntarily regulate it," says Richard
Davidson, director of the Laboratory for Affective Neuroscience at the
University of Wisconsin.
Meditation directly affect
neurotransmitter and structure of the brain, changing it in ways that appear to
increase attention span, sharpen focus, and improve memory.
1. Meditation sharpens your focus
and memory
You don't need to be a monk on a
mountaintop to experience for yourself the link between meditation and memory
improvement. The basic type of meditation practiced in Vedic Time was shown in
the research to be very effective in causing the cortex to thicken. This type
of meditation is called mindfulness meditation (also known as
"awareness" or "insight" -meditation).
But as we learn from studies
performed on Buddhist an important component in changing the brain is to tap
the power of mind and, in particular, focused attention. This is the classic
Buddhist practice of mindfulness, a technique that has become popular and that
is immediately available to everyone.
2. Technique of Meditation
Our minds usually jump wildly
from thought to thought. We replay the past; we fantasize about the future. In
meditation we take an upright posture, place our mind on an object, and keep it
there. In meditation, the object is the simple act of breathing. The breath
represents being in the immediacy of the moment.
When you sit down, take a
balanced, grounded posture to allow the energy in the center of your body to
move freely. If you're on a cushion, sit with your legs loosely crossed. If
you're in a chair, keep your legs uncrossed and your feet flat on the floor.
Imagine that a string attached to the top of your head is pulling you upright.
Let your body settle around your erect spine. Place your hands on your thighs,
in a place not so far forward that it begins to pull your shoulders down, nor
so far back that the shoulders contract and pinch the spine. The fingers are
close and relaxed —not spread out in a grip, as if you can't let yourself go.
Tuck your chin in and relax your jaw. The tongue is also relaxed, resting
against your upper teeth. Your mouth is ever so slightly open. Your gaze is
downward, with the eyelids almost half shut. The eyes aren't looking; the eyes
just see. it is the same with sound —we aren't listening, but we do hear. In
other words, we're not focusing with our senses.
The basic technique is that we
begin to notice our breath. The breath is what we're using as the basis of our
mindfulness technique; it brings us back to the moment, back to the present
situation. The breath is something that is constant —otherwise it's too late.
Using the breathing as the object
of meditation is especially good for calming a busy mind. The steady flow of
the breath soothes the mind and allows for steadiness and relaxation. This is
ordinary breathing; nothing is exaggerated. One simple technique is to count
the in-and out-cycles of breathing from one to twenty-one. We breathe in, and
then out —one. Inand then out two. Place your mind on the breathing and count
each cycle of breath. You can drop the counting when your mind is settled.
When your focus is wavering,
check your posture. Bring yourself back to the upright position. Imagine the
string pulling your spine up straight and relax your body around it. Slouching
impairs your breathing, which directly affects the mind. If you slump, you'll
be struggling with your body at the same time that you're trying to train your
mind. What you want to be doing is the opposite: synchronizing your body and
mind.
As you focus on the breath,
you'll notice that various thoughts and emotions arise. When this happens,
acknowledge that you are thinking and return your focus to the breath. In
focusing you are bringing yourself back to attention. You are centering
yourself in your mind and placing that mind on the breath. You are slowly
settling. You're gradually slowing the mind. When you first begin to meditate,
the movement of thoughts may feel like a rushing waterfall. But as you continue
to apply the technique of recognizing thoughts and returning your focus to the
breath, the torrent slows down to a river, then to a meandering stream, which
eventually flows into a deep, calm ocean.
